Informative Essay On Alcatraz

Candice☺ Cain

Miss Yu

English 1, Period 4

2 March 2015 There were twenty-eight prisoner deaths while Alcatraz was open. Five inmates committed suicide, fifteen died of natural causes, and eight were murdered. Everything about the prison seemed appalling, but why wouldn’t it? There had been countless prison fights, some of which resulted in prisoners gaining nearly fatal wounds, such as a fight started by inmate James "Tex" Lucas, who attempted to kill the infamous mobster, Al Capone. Alcatraz was centered in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The waters surrounding it were known to hold some of the lowest temperatures in the state. This caused gruesomely cold temperatures in the actual prison, which many inmates harshly complained about. Yet the cold climate was nowhere near as ghastly as the

Thirty-six inmates participated in these attempts and ten lost their lives because of it. Alcatraz has always been known for its strict security. The location of Alcatraz was one of the biggest problem the inmates faced when trying to escape. Right in the middle of the frigid waters of San Francisco, one-and-a-half miles from shore, was where the high-security prison laid. If the prisoner was able to somehow break out of his cell, allude the prison guards, and make it outside without being spotted by any of the watch towers, he would still face another impossible dilemma. Several escape attempts were foiled by the frosty water, such as John Richard Bayless’s plan to swim to shore, but gave up the struggle in a matter of moments. The only confirmed statement of a prisoner being able to swim to the San Francisco shores was John Paul Scott, who attempted his escape in 1962. He was found the next day by a group of teenagers, and was taken to a hospital. He had been diagnosed with hypothermia and was unable to make a full escape, due to the hardship the sickness caused